Turkey shells Syria's Afrin region, minister says operation has begun

[Solomon2]

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/tu...-3-5-million-syrians-return-government-126195​

Turkey’s military operations to continue until 3.5 million Syrians return: Government
ANKARA

The Turkish military’s operations in Syria will continue “until all terrorists are fully eliminated” and around 3.5 million Syrian refugees return to their homes, the Ankara government announced after a top security summit held on the fourth day of “Operation Olive Branch” in Afrin.

“Our operations will continue until the separatist terror organization is fully cleared from the region and around 3.5 million Syrians who are now sheltered in Turkey are able to securely return to their homeland,” Presidential Spokesman İbrahim Kalın said in a written statement on Jan. 23 after the summit.

The meeting was convened at the presidential complex in Ankara, under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and with the participation of senior military and civilian officials.

Turkey currently hosts around 3.5 million Syrians who have fled violence in Syria since the civil war broke out in early 2011.

Echoing Kalın, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım also vowed that the operation will continue “until the last terrorist is eradicated in the region.”

“Whatever it takes, we will abolish the terror corridor they are trying to build in the region,” Yıldırım said, calling on the YPG “to drop its arms and stop causing trouble.”

‘Successful and as planned’

Kalın said the operation in Afrin is going “successfully and as planned,” with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) continuing their advance into the enclave. He stressed that Turkish troops are paying “utmost care to distinguish civilians from terrorists” and are also working to deliver necessary humanitarian assistance to locals.

“Operation Olive Branch is being carried out against terror organizations, not against any ethnic group. Similar operations by Turkey until today have never brought about atrocities, blood or tears. To the contrary, they have brought peace and well-being to the people living in those areas,” Kalın said.

He also urged media institutions to be “careful against disinformation, untrue and distorted news and footage” of the operation, saying legal action will be taken against any such attempts.

Two soldiers killed

As the operation entered its fourth day, two Turkish soldiers were killed in separate theaters in Afrin on Jan. 22 and 23.

The Turkish General Staff stated that commissioned soldier Musa Özalkan was killed on Jan. 22 in clashes that took place southeast of the Turkish village of Gülbaba, just across from the Syrian border.

President Erdoğan, Prime Minister Yıldırım, ministers, senior government officials, and representatives from opposition parties attended Özalkan’s funeral in the Turkish capital on Jan. 23.

Erdoğan delivered a statement at the funeral, vowing that the operation would result in a “clear victory.”

“We have no time to listen to what other countries say about our operation. The decision to launch the operation was given by our people. The people will not give any respite to a few ignoble men on our borders,” he said.

After Özalkan’s funeral it was reported that a second soldier, Oğuz Kaan Usta, was killed on Jan. 23, the fourth day of the operation.

 

[Oublious]

https://www.facebook.com/

 

[The Eagle]

@waz there is already a main thread thread and this one is attracting trolls, it has no purpose, pls merge it with this one.

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/turk...tes-discussions.445718/page-628#post-10191447

As per my observation, both threads are different in context so, need to be kept separate. The other one is about details/news w.r.t. Turkiye operations that started from day first. Here the matter is about why Afrin is needed and how Minister defines.

Regards,

 

[T-123456]

As per my observation, both threads are different in context so, need to be kept separate. The other one is about details/news w.r.t. Turkiye operations that started from day first. Here the matter is about why Afrin is needed and how Minister defines.

Regards,

Your observation is wrong.
This thread has no meaning,the why when and how is already explained on the thread mentioned by @xenon54 so,why do you want this thread to be kept apart,so that trolls can post without any consequences?

 

[The Eagle]

Your observation is wrong.
This thread has no meaning,the why when and how is already explained on the thread mentioned by @xenon54 so,why do you want this thread to be kept apart,so that trolls can post without any consequences?

For the Trolls, you have reporting option. Already dealt with one.

Regards,

 

[ejaz007]

Fears over US-Turkey military confrontation in Syria
13 hours ago

YPG fighters are preparing to defend Manbij after Turkey attacked Afrin [Khalil Ashawi/Reuters]
MORE ON TURKEY-SYRIA BORDER

• Erdogan threatens to extend Afrin operation to Manbijtoday
• Turkey battles YPG 'on two fronts' in Syria's Afrinyesterday
• What is Russia's end game in Afrin?yesterday
• Turkey's operation in Syria's Afrin: The key players2 days ago

A US-backed Kurdish militia has deployed fighters to the front line of Syria's Manbij to battle Turkey's military after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it would be next after launching the cross-border Afrin operation.

Manbij is about 100km east of Afrin where the United States has military personnel deployed in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), meaning troops from the NATO allies could come face to face on the battlefield.

The US military coalition operating in Manbij said soldiers there have the right defend themselves against any attack, and wouldn't hesitate to do so.

"Clearly we are very alert to what is happening, specifically in the area of Manbij because that is where our ... coalition forces are," spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon told Reuters news agency. "The coalition forces that are in that area have an inherent right to defend themselves and will do so if necessary."

Sharfan Darwish of the Manbij Military Council - a unit of the YPG Syrian-Kurd militia currently under attack by Turkey in Afrin - said his forces were preparing to confront Turkish soldiers.

"We are in full readiness to respond to any attack. Of course our coordination with the international coalition continues with regards to the protection of Manbij," said Darwish.

INSIDE STORY: How will new front in Syria war impact US-Turkey ties? (25:01)


The intensifying situation in northern Syria led to a phone call between Erdogan and US President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

Trump expressed concern about Turkey's "destructive and false rhetoric" over the situation and urged caution so US and Turkish troops don't engage in battle.

"He urged Turkey to de-escalate, limit its military actions, and avoid civilian casualties and increases to displaced persons and refugees," a White House statement said.

"He urged Turkey to exercise caution and to avoid any actions that might risk conflict between Turkish and American forces."

Erdogan threatened earlier Wednesday to extend the Afrin offensive to Manbij to "clean our region from this trouble completely".

Decades-long uprising
Turkey sees the YPG - trained, armed and supported by the US to fight against ISIL - as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought a bloody decades-long uprising in the country.

Erdogan indicated one aim of the anti-YPG operation was to create a safe zone where some of the more than three million Syrians who fled to Turkey in the civil war could return.

"First we will exterminate the terrorists, then we will make the area liveable. For who? For the 3.5 million Syrian guests in our land," Erdogan said.

Turkey's government has hit out at "propaganda" against its cross-border action. Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin has urged the media and public to be aware of "fake, distortive and provocative news".

Meanwhile, rockets fired from northern Syria slammed into a mosque and a house on Wednesday inside Turkey, killing two people and wounding 11 others. The projectiles were fired in the early evening into the border province of Kilis.

One Syrian and one Turk were killed, the Kilis governor's office said, in attacks it blamed on the YPG militia in Syria.

The Turkish military said 260 Kurdish and ISIL fighters were killed so far in the five-day Afrin incursion - a claim refuted by a Kurdish commander who said the number was "greatly exaggerated".

Redur Xelil, an official from Syria Democratic Forces led by the YPG, denied the claim that ISIL fighters were involved in the fight for Afrin.

INSIDE STORY

How will new front in Syria war impact US-Turkey ties?

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/...tary-confrontation-syria-180124203652700.html

 

[Islamic faith&Secularism]

For the Trolls, you have reporting option. Already dealt with one.

Regards,

The title of the thread is based on a sentence in the news in the OP and link; however, the original sentence in the new/link is deliberatly changed and put into the title of the thread.

Despite your suggestion and my reports, the title is still there to mislead the news, and troll members; still no action taken, why?

 

[Arabi]

Official says US would prefer Turkey withdraw from Afrin


The United States would prefer that Turkish troops “remove themselves” from a conflict in the Syrian border town of Afrin, President Donald Trump’s homeland security adviser said Thursday. He also appealed to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to focus on “longer-term strategic goals” of a peaceable Syria.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos before Trump’s arrival later, Tom Bossert said Turkey “ought to be mindful of the potential for escalation as they move into Syria and Afrin.”

The United States has previously expressed concerns over Turkey’s military offensive against the Kurdish-controlled enclave of Afrin in northwest Syria but Bossert’s comments were the most direct call for Turkey to withdraw.

Turkish leaders have threatened to expand their drive against the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, to other border areas, a move that could put Turkish troops in direct conflict with U.S. forces and their Syrian Kurdish allies. U.S. troops have no presence near or in Afrin, but there are a couple of thousands servicemen stationed farther east.

The United States relies on the YPG — which forms the backbone of a force that drove Islamic State fighters from much of northeast Syria — to patrol areas taken from the extremist group. The YPG, backed by the U.S., now control 25 percent of Syrian territory. Turkey considers the YPG as an extension of outlawed Kurdish rebels fighting Ankara and a national security threat.

U.S. support for the YPG has heightened tensions between the two countries, who are NATO allies. Statements provided by U.S. and Turkish officials following a Wednesday telephone conversation between Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump came as an indication of the deteriorating relations.

The White House said Trump expressed concerns about the growing violence in Afrin and told Erdogan it jeopardizes shared U.S.-Turkish goals in Syria and expressed concern about “destructive and false rhetoric coming from Turkey” in reference to anti-U.S. statement by Turkish government officials.

Turkish officials disputed the White House readout saying it did not “accurately reflect” the content of their discussions.

The officials said that contrary to a White House statement, Trump did not voice “concerns (about) escalating violence” over Turkey’s cross-border operation or use the phrase “destructive and false rhetoric coming from Turkey.” The officials provided the information on condition of anonymity in line with government rules.

In further comments suggesting that Turkey could expand the Afrin offensive to other areas, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Thursday that his government won’t allow the creation of a “terrorist” entity along Turkey’s borders. He again accused the United States of not standing by a NATO ally.

“It is astounding and unacceptable … that a country which is supposed to protect NATO’s borders is giving open support to armed entities that target our borders,” Yildirim said.

Bossert said Thursday it would be a “terrible outcome” if Turkish troops clashed with “the proxy forces that we have all been relying on to defeat ISIS, especially if there are U.S. advisers in the region.”

“There could be grave consequences to any miscalculation and escalation.”

He acknowledged Turkey’s “legitimate security concerns about elements of the SDF forces amassed on their southern border … but I think they are smaller concerns than the grander strategic need for a stable and supportable Syria.”

“I’m not in any way critical of the Turkish decisions, but I’m just praying for their longer-term strategic patience,” Bossert said.

 

[xenon54 out]

Official says US would prefer Turkey withdraw from Afrin


The United States would prefer that Turkish troops “remove themselves” from a conflict in the Syrian border town of Afrin, President Donald Trump’s homeland security adviser said Thursday. He also appealed to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to focus on “longer-term strategic goals” of a peaceable Syria.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos before Trump’s arrival later, Tom Bossert said Turkey “ought to be mindful of the potential for escalation as they move into Syria and Afrin.”

The United States has previously expressed concerns over Turkey’s military offensive against the Kurdish-controlled enclave of Afrin in northwest Syria but Bossert’s comments were the most direct call for Turkey to withdraw.

Turkish leaders have threatened to expand their drive against the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, to other border areas, a move that could put Turkish troops in direct conflict with U.S. forces and their Syrian Kurdish allies. U.S. troops have no presence near or in Afrin, but there are a couple of thousands servicemen stationed farther east.

The United States relies on the YPG — which forms the backbone of a force that drove Islamic State fighters from much of northeast Syria — to patrol areas taken from the extremist group. The YPG, backed by the U.S., now control 25 percent of Syrian territory. Turkey considers the YPG as an extension of outlawed Kurdish rebels fighting Ankara and a national security threat.

U.S. support for the YPG has heightened tensions between the two countries, who are NATO allies. Statements provided by U.S. and Turkish officials following a Wednesday telephone conversation between Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump came as an indication of the deteriorating relations.

The White House said Trump expressed concerns about the growing violence in Afrin and told Erdogan it jeopardizes shared U.S.-Turkish goals in Syria and expressed concern about “destructive and false rhetoric coming from Turkey” in reference to anti-U.S. statement by Turkish government officials.

Turkish officials disputed the White House readout saying it did not “accurately reflect” the content of their discussions.

The officials said that contrary to a White House statement, Trump did not voice “concerns (about) escalating violence” over Turkey’s cross-border operation or use the phrase “destructive and false rhetoric coming from Turkey.” The officials provided the information on condition of anonymity in line with government rules.

In further comments suggesting that Turkey could expand the Afrin offensive to other areas, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Thursday that his government won’t allow the creation of a “terrorist” entity along Turkey’s borders. He again accused the United States of not standing by a NATO ally.

“It is astounding and unacceptable … that a country which is supposed to protect NATO’s borders is giving open support to armed entities that target our borders,” Yildirim said.

Bossert said Thursday it would be a “terrible outcome” if Turkish troops clashed with “the proxy forces that we have all been relying on to defeat ISIS, especially if there are U.S. advisers in the region.”

“There could be grave consequences to any miscalculation and escalation.”

He acknowledged Turkey’s “legitimate security concerns about elements of the SDF forces amassed on their southern border … but I think they are smaller concerns than the grander strategic need for a stable and supportable Syria.”

“I’m not in any way critical of the Turkish decisions, but I’m just praying for their longer-term strategic patience,” Bossert said.

And i would prefer to have a Lamborghini but it doesnt work that way.

 

[Arabi]

BREAKING: Afrin Self Administration office published a statement calling out The Syrian Army to enter Afrin and protect it from Turkish invasion

 

[Oublious]

BREAKING: Afrin Self Administration office published a statement calling out The Syrian Army to enter Afrin and protect it from Turkish invasion

ypg/pkk are the whore of the middle east...

 

[Hexciter]

https://twitter.com/x/status/956616869670195202

 

[Arabi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/956616869670195202

Syrian refugees received Saudi backpacks

Was that the only thing you found to link Kurd fighters to Saudi Arabia?

 

[xenon54 out]

https://twitter.com/x/status/956616869670195202

To be fair you never know how they got their hands on those, isis also used Turkish red crescent bags for storing ammo, i think nobody would be stupid enough to put their logo on aid when supplying terrorists.

 

[Hexciter]

Syrian refugees received Saudi backpacks

Was that the only thing you found to link Kurd fighters to Saudi Arabia?

May be you destinated them for children in your mind, but you see in whose hands! Is that clear?